King For A Night
by Katie Alden
Summary: Ben Gibbons has finally secured a place on the Auror Force. But on his first day he notices an unusual Department name, and the story behind it may affect his future on the Force. Written for the QLFC Season 7 Round 6.


**Written for the QLFC Season Seven Round Six. Chaser 2 - Mistaken identity: write about a case of mistaken identity. Prompts: 1. (word) uncomfortable; 3. (Dialogue) "Are you really eating pizza in the middle of this?"; 15. (dialogue) "How are you ok with this? I can hardly believe it myself."**

**Please note: the Marauders Map was not created at the time of the events taking place here. If it had been, I'm sure this story would look very different...**

_August 1981, Ministry of Magic_

It was a typical day in the Auror Office - or as normal as life ever was during war time. When James and Sirius had first applied to the Auror Force, they had harboured visions of sneaking around corners and fierce battles, however, they soon learnt that the most substantial part of their time was taken up by paperwork and dead trails. Every day hundreds of tips came in from the public regarding the whereabouts of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his Death Eaters. The vast majority proved to be false; however, they couldn't rule out the possibility that one may be the lead they desperately needed.

On this particular morning, James and Sirius had been assigned to sorting through the field reports and matching them up to the tips the Office had received in the past week. It was dull work, to say the least. Which is why when Moody called for volunteers to show a new recruit around, they jumped at the chance.

"Gibbons is it? I'm Auror Potter, this is Auror Black. Welcome aboard." James and Sirius both shook hands with Ben Gibbons, whose eyes were nervously darting around the office.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Potter, Black. I'm really looking forward to working on the Force."

"We're looking forward to having you," rejoined Sirius. "Before we can get you hunting for Death Eaters though, we need to make sure you know your way around. Ready for the grand tour?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Save the Sirs for Moody, Gibbons. Come along, we're busy today, so we best get a move on." James grinned at Gibbons and led the way down the corridor, pointing out particular doors as they went.

"The Auror Force sits within the Department of Magical Law, our job is to catch the Dark wizards. All Divisions of the Department share this floor. Over there, that's the Head's office, enter only when summoned. Next to it is Moody's office, the Head Auror. Don't enter that one unannounced either or you'll end up with a wand in your face."

"Down that corridor is Law Enforcement Squad," rejoined Sirius. "They have a few Sub-Divisions, so they take up the most space. Up the back is the Wizengamot Administration, and to your right is the Improper Use of Magic office."

"Now Gibbons, Sirius and I have to run some reports down to the Minister of Magic if you'd like to come down with us? You likely wouldn't have to go there often to start with, but with this war, we never know when we'll be thrown into new tasks." Gibbons nodded, unable to produce coherent speech. While he was excited to be finally fulfilling his dream of joining the Auror Force, he was feeling extremely uncomfortable in the presence of two men who were obviously extremely professional.

The trio turned a corner and entered the lifts, James pushing a series of numbers that would take them directly to the Minister's Office. As the lift carried them through the Ministry Gibbons perused the list of Departments posted next to the buttons.

_Department of Magical Transportation_

_Floo Network Office_

_Broom Regulatory Council_

_Portkey Office_

_Apparition Test Centre_

_Department of Mysteries _

_Department of Regulation and Control of Magic Creatures_

_Beast Division_

_Being Division_

_Spirit Division_

_Goblin Liaison Office_

_Mass Extermination Squad_

Gibbons was about to read on when he found himself doing a double take. "Excuse me, Auror Black, but what is the Mass Extermination Squad? Isn't that a bit inhumane?"

"Ah, yes. The Mass Extermination Squad. It's fairly new actually, less than a year old."

"It's our claim to fame actually," continued James.

"Did you come up with the idea then?" Gibbons couldn't believe it. These men couldn't have been much older than he was, and yet they had already created an entire Division in the Ministry.

"Oh, no." James struggled to hold in a snort of laughter. "You see, we were quite the pranksters in school, and one day it went horribly wrong . . . "

* * *

_May 1976, Hogwarts_

"Alright men, it's that time of the month."

"Have you been stalking Lily's menstrual cycle again Prongs? That's not very chivalrous, you know."

James glared daggers at Sirius before continuing.

"As you know, the full moon is in three days, which means that it is time to steal the patrol schedules to ensure we can all get out of the castle undetected. Pete, you up for some sneaking?"

"Sure am Prongs! Same plan as always?"

"I think you guys are insane. You can't keep risking yourselves for me, you'll get kicked out." As was usual during these monthly meetings, Remus was attempting to be strict and disapproving, while poorly hiding the fact that he was delighted that his friends would go to such lengths for him.

"Oh shut up Moony, you know we don't care about that," admonished Sirius. "Wormtail, I think the usual plan works well. As the Muggles say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Ah, Padfoot, why do you know that saying?" James looked at his best friend oddly.

"I'm stocking up on Muggle phrases and trends to annoy my parents with over the holidays. But back to the issue at hand; is tonight okay with you, Pete?"

"Tonight is perfect."

* * *

Wormtail scurried through the corridors, avoiding the pools of light created by the torches on the wall. This was the third month in a row that he had been sent on this mission, and he still felt uncomfortable with the idea of stealing from a Professor. However, Prongs and Padfoot had told him he was the only one able to carry out the theft, and he couldn't deny the feelings of importance and pride that welled within him at that thought.

As he rounded the last corner, Wormtail slowed, his eyes darting in all directions. Prongs and Padfoot had purposefully secured themselves a detention with McGonagall tonight, ensuring she would be away from her office; however almost six years of sneaking around had taught him that you could never be too careful. Confident that the corridor was silent, Wormatil scurried across the floor and through the office door. Hurrying towards the desk, he didn't notice the other person in the room until it was too late.

With a startled scream, McGonagall had leapt from her chair and transformed into her tabby cat animagus form, jumping at the rat that had scuttled through her door. After she had dealt with this pest, she was going to have a firm chat with Mr Filch. Mrs Norris had evidently become complacent.

* * *

James was worried. The plan had worked so well for the previous two months, and he had seen no reason to believe it wouldn't work again. He was therefore shocked to find out that he and Sirius were not in detention with Professor McGonagall, but rather with Professor Slughorn.

"Excuse me, Sir. I thought Professor McGonagall was taking our detention?"

"She was going to Mr Potter, but she has assignments to mark. I have none today, so I offered to take you instead. I'm sure you're glad, hmm? Sorting potions ingredients is much more enjoyable than scrubbing walls, isn't it?"

At that moment, James would have much-rathered been scrubbing the dirty walls, as long as it meant McGonagall wasn't in her office. He was making his way towards Sirius to plan their escape when he heard a scream, followed less than a minute later by nervous squeaking and a cat's frustrated yowl.

Sharing a horrified glance with Sirius, James bolted out of the room, Sirius hot on his heels. Ignoring Slughorn's shouts, the two boys sprinted up the corridor, only to see a terrified Wormtail cornered by a large tabby cat.

"Padfoot, you distract the cat, and I'll grab Pete." James positioned himself in such a way that he could dart in as soon as the cat's attention had been diverted; however, it seemed that fate had other plans.

* * *

Peter could not remember a time in his life when he had felt more terrified. Even his first day at Hogwarts seemed like a walk in the park compared to this moment. He knew he couldn't just transform back - he wasn't the smartest person around, but he wasn't stupid enough to give away their secret in front of a Professor. This had left him in quite the predicament, however. He knew he would never be fast enough to escape McGonagall and change unseen, but he also did not feel like getting eaten today.

As he ran through the halls, Peter found himself getting lost in thoughts of how to escape alive, and thus didn't realise that McGonagall had caught up with him. Until she swiped at his tail that was. With speed he did not know he possessed Peter took off towards the dungeons, leaving a very frustrated tabby cat behind him. He sprinted down corridors and scuttled down staircases until he was within the dungeons, far away from the angry cat.

He had just decided that he was safe to transform when a spitting tabby cat appeared from a side passage, catching him by surprise. He was trapped in a corner, with no way out.

As McGonagall stepped closer and closer towards him, Peter backed further and further into the corner. After a few steps, however, he realised that he was going back further than he should have been able to. Risking a quick look over his shoulder, Peter saw a small hole in the wall, into which his tail was already disappearing. With a triumphant squeak, he turned and raced down the tiny tunnel in the wall, vaguely registering the sounds of familiar shouts behind him.

On and on he ran, not really sure of what direction he was moving in. All he knew was that he could not go out of that same hole and that this little passageway must end somewhere. As he ran, Peter started noticing other passageways branching off his one, and more than that, he could hear the sounds of other creatures moving around.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Peter finally saw a pinprick of light. He raced towards it, glad to get out of this tiny, dark passageway, only to screech to a halt in horror. Although he had been sure he had been running in the opposite direction from where he started, there was the unmistakable fur of a cat. The cat turned, and Peter realised that it was not McGonagall, but instead, she had now enlisted the help of Mrs Norris. This did not instil him with confidence - Peter knew from past experience that Mrs Norris was a relentless rat hunter.

Abandoning all plans of escape, Peter turned, intending to wait out the night in the walls of Hogwarts, only to find his way blocked. While he had been focused on Mrs Norris, a large number of rats had amassed behind him. And from what little rat-speech Peter had thus far picked up, things were not looking good for him. Apparently, the rats regarded him as special because he was fat and neatly groomed, and that meant only one thing.

He had not planned on being crowned King of the rats tonight.

* * *

After their failed attempt at rescuing Peter, James and Sirius had raced back to their Common Room to get Remus, only to be confronted by yet another horrific sight. Sitting calmly in the corner of the Common Room, book in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other, was Remus. Anyone would have thought he didn't care that his friend was about to become cat food.

"Remus!" gasped Sirius. "Are you really eating pizza in the middle of this?"

"In the middle of what? Aren't you two supposed to be in detention?" Remus looked between the two in confusion. It was very unusual for McGonagall to let them out this quickly.

"The middle of Operation Rescue Pete from Evil Cat!" James drew the eyes of the entire common room as he waved his arms around, almost shouting at Remus.

"Wait. Are you trying to tell me that Wormtail has been caught by a cat?" Remus could not believe what he was hearing. James and Sirius both looked uncomfortable under his glare, but eventually, Sirius cracked.

"Well, umm, you see. . . Pete has been caught by McGonagall, and she chased him in cat form. We tried to save him, but he disappeared into a wall."

"You lost Peter. And left McGonagall to hunt him unsupervised. Are you both insane?"

"I think the better question is why you were here eating pizza instead of helping us?" James tried to look stern, but he knew he was failing. Remus was scary when he got serious.

"I was eating pizza because I was hungry and that's what the House Elves brought me. I wasn't looking for him because I trusted you two to have a fool safe plan, but obviously, that was a stupid assumption! Come on, let's go save Pete."

Remus gave them one last withering glance and turned to leave the Common Room when suddenly they heard a great rumbling. The floor and walls began to shake, and the room erupted into chaos.

Before they could even begin to wonder at the cause, what seemed to be thousands of rats flooded into the Common Room. Students ran screaming through the portrait hole, only to find themselves confronted with a carpet of rats on the other side.

In the middle of them all was one large, neatly-groomed rat with a tiny crown on its head.

* * *

Despite his protestations, the rats had immediately lead Peter to the depths of the castle walls and held a coronation ceremony. He had no idea where they had found the tiny crown, but he was too freaked out to try and ask.

After the ceremony, the rats were overexcited, and Peter became worried about what might happen next. Against his will, he was carried back through the passages, and out into the corridors of Hogwarts, followed by what must be every rat in the surrounding countryside. He knew he really was trapped now - not only was there the chance of humans being around to see him transform, the rats truly believed him to be their King, and he did not want to be in the midst of this hoard when they realised he was not.

Peter was so terrified, he had forgotten to pay attention to where they were going, and all the corridors seemed to blend into one. Suddenly though he heard screams and frightened exclamations, and realised that he had arrived at Gryffindor Tower.

There was only one thing to do. Putting on his most innocent face - not an easy thing for a rat - he scuttled towards the portrait hole, where he could see his friends gaping at him. He looked at them as beseechingly as possible in rat form, hoping they would take pity on him and save him from this horrible reality he had found himself in.

To his delight, he saw a pair of hands reach down and pluck him out of the flood of rats. Unfortunately though, the face he was confronted with was not as happy to see him as he had hoped. Peter did his best to copy Sirius' puppy dog eyes, but wasn't hopeful as to their success.

"How are you ok with this?" Remus asked him, his eyebrows drawn together in a stern frown. "I can hardly believe it, myself. How on earth did you get yourselves into this mess?"

Remus carried Wormtail through the rat-infested Common Room up to their dormitory, where he stared at him until Peter transformed, landing red-faced in the middle of the room.

"You're fortunate that you can't reveal your animagus abilities, or I'd be marching you straight to McGonagall right now." Remus wheeled around as he heard snickering from the doorway. "That goes for all three of you. I leave you alone for half an hour, and you cause a plague of rats to flood the entire school! You had better hope this is fixed easily."

* * *

_August 1981, Ministry of Magic_

Gibbons could not believe what he had just heard. These were the men supposed to be keeping them safe?

"Well, did they get rid of the rats?"

James rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "They did, but it took them about a week. They lured the rats out of the Common Rooms and then magically sealed us in to keep us safe. In the end, they had to get in Aurors and Hit Wizards, on top of the people from the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures."

"That is why the Mass Extermination Squad was created," continued Sirius. "It's mostly comprised of retired Aurors who still want something to do."

"Ah, here we are, the Minister's Office. You'll love this, Gibbons. Not everyone gets down here on their first day."

* * *

Gibbons quickly settled into the Auror Force and became one of their best spies. However, there were always two things that remained a mystery - why he always looked uncomfortable around Aurors Potter and Black, and why he developed a sudden phobia of rats.


End file.
